Riots of Change
by smokepelt
Summary: Allegiant AU. Don't read on unless you've finished! I own none of the original. - My name is Tobias Eaton. My mother has chosen me. The civil war is over. I return to the Bureau, expecting the worst, and get the best. My sister, who I thought was dead, has saved Tris. Maybe my life of violence has come to an end.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I make no promises that I won't rip out your hearts, but I will be a little kinder than Veronica Roth. And this _is_ slightly AU, so don't be too critical, okay?**

_Tobias_

"Where is everyone?" Amar asks, breaking the eerie silence.

We walk through the abandoned security checkpoint without stopping. On the other side, I see Cara. The side of her face is badly bruised, and there's a bandage on her head. But that's not what concerns me. What concerns me is the troubled look on her face.

Uneasy, I voice what we are all thinking. "Where's Tris?" Cara merely shakes her head. I swallow hard and repeat the question more forcefully, "Where is Tris?"

"I'm sorry, Tobias."

There shouldn't have been a rasp in her voice. "Sorry about what?" Christina demands, stepping forward menacingly. "Tell us what happened!" She wants to be reassured, like I do. To not have her nightmares come true. I swallow hard around the growing lump in my throat.

"Tris went into the Weapons Lab instead of Caleb," Cara informs us. "She survived the death serum and set off the memory serum, but she… she was shot." Her eyes well up with tears. "And she didn't survive. I'm so sorry."

Most of the time I can tell when people are lying. This must be a lie, because Tris is still alive. She wouldn't leave me here alone. She wouldn't go into the Weapons Lab instead of–

No. Of course she would have gone into the Weapons Lab instead of Caleb.

Before a haze fully clouds my mind, another achingly familiar voice cuts into the fog of grief. "I never said she passed away, Cara. She's actually quite alive, if not a little injured." I blink past clouded eyes, slowly focusing on a dark brown ponytail and deep sapphire irises.

"Bryn?" My voice is weaker than I want it to be. All at once, the Bureau falls away around us, and I can hear my sister's voice when we were young, saying that not everything is as it seemed.

The same crooked smile from my childhood greets me now. "Hey, Legend."

I rush forward without thinking, clinging onto her like the lifeline she is. "I thought you were dead," I whisper in her ear. Last time I saw her, we were the same height. Now I have at least two inches on her.

"A minute ago you thought Tris was dead," she remarks, pulling away from me.

Christina straightens behind us. "She's alive?"

"Of course. Why would anyone let Tris, or Caleb if it had been him, go into the Weapons Lab alone?" She rolls her eyes. "I'm impulsive, too, but at least I can think things through." Her blue/near-black gaze locks on Cara. "I said I would take her to the infirmary and we would see, not that she died. She did, in fact, live." Her eyes return to the party that returned from Chicago, settling last on me. "Tris lived through the death serum the first time. I believe it was still in the air when David shot her. Once it got into her bloodstream, it would've been able to steal over her body. The gunshot itself wasn't fatal; it actually hit her shoulder. David probably wanted to warn her off, not kill her."

Managing a tiny grin, I comment, "You know how much I love you, right?"

"I would hope so. C'mon. I know you want to see her." She takes the lead, but only Christina and I fall into step with her. Amar and the others have to take care of the memory-wiped Bureau workers.

Tris is unconscious when we reach the infirmary. Caleb sits in a chair at her bedside, torn between guilt and relief. Her blonde hair is splayed across the pillow, fresh gauze wrapped around her shoulder and torso. An IV sticks out of her arm. Bryn moves toward the pouch with the IV fluid and switches something. I want to ask her where she has been all these years, why she let me believe half of our family was dead. She and I had transferred to Dauntless together, but she had disappeared within the first month.

Staring at Tris, though, all those questions flee my mind. I am just happy that Bryn is here, alive and well, and that she managed to save Tris when I couldn't.

"Where is David, anyway?" Christina inquires. I snap out of my daze to pay attention.

It's Caleb who answers. "Somewhere with Nita, I think."

Bryn nods almost imperceptibly. "A lot of the workers were erased, and those who weren't are suddenly being really nice. I guess they realize the depth of what Tris did." She looks at Tris as she speaks. A tiny smile plays at her lips. "I know you're awake now, Prior. I switched the medicine." I am not all that shocked to see Tris's blue-gray eyes open in response.

"Who are you?" she wonders aloud. "I know you saved me, but…"

I come to stand beside Bryn. "My guardian of a sister," I reply, smiling down at Tris. "I heard from Bryn you and David had quite the meeting, huh?"

"Understatement," she mutters, grimacing.

Christina glares at her best friend. "Do you know how stupid you are? You could've been killed doing something like that! You were the one who said that Caleb was the best choice. Unless, suddenly, I'm affected by the memory serum too." Her irritation belies her relief.

Tris closes her eyes once more. "Caleb wouldn't have survived. We both knew that. He was only going to do it for the escape from his guilt at what he'd done to me. And I couldn't let him die like that." Her brother reaches for her hand, and she squeezes it, taking comfort from his quiet presence. "I actually thought I was dead for a while. I saw my mother in that room, and I imagined her coming to bring me to whatever afterlife there is. But then Bryn blocked my vision of her. Seeing her reminded me of what I had to live for."

"Both of you are exhausted, Priors. Caleb, you can take the bed" – Bryn pulls aside a curtain – "on this side of the room. Tris, I'm going to need to steal your boyfriend for a while."

She waves weakly, dismissively. "You better tell Christina to get some rest, too. Otherwise she'll stand guard."

"Alright, I get it," Christina grumbles, weariness tugging at her features. "I'll see you soon, Tris." She leaves the door ajar.

Bryn and I head outside after her, back into the crisp winter chill. Only when we are alone do I realize the complexity of seeing her again. I fold my arms across my chest. "Start talking, Scourge."


	2. Chapter 2

_Bryn_

"Scourge," I sigh. "I don't know how long it's been since I heard that name."

Tobias frowns. "And calling me Legend before… I might not be alive if it wasn't for you. Where have you been all this time?"

I dodge the question. "Remind what my five fears were?" His eyes narrow with suspicion, and I wave my hand dismissively. "Yes, I know you well enough, Four. If you want to treat this strictly as business, we can take this back to Six's room, since she's better at giving judgment with a clear head. But if you want the truth from me, you'll indulge me with my questions." He flinches at his and Tris's other nicknames, knowing I can shut out any former ties with him in order to respond.

His features, so much like my own, soften almost imperceptibly. "I'm sorry, Bryn. You just… you have to realize how weird this is for me."

"You went through it with Mom. I don't see what the problem is." I lean my shoulder against the building, watching him carefully. He still has not released his defensive stance, and that worries me.

"I saw a body with her!" he exclaims, uncrossing his arms long enough to scrub a hand over his weary face. "You just disappeared. It was actually better for me to say you died than to deal with the consequences of you leaving." I open my mouth, but he beats me to it. "Of course I don't remember your five fears. You could have been a legend, too, like Tris and I are. Instead you vanished before anyone could record anything in your file. And I had to go on with my life, knowing that my father would come to get me sometime for switching factions, having your image always in the back of my mind. How could you protect me if you weren't there?"

For a second, he reminds me of the little brother I left behind. Eleven months apart, he and I had gone through nearly everything together. Until I was taken to the Bureau.

"You protected me, too. More times than I care to admit." I sigh. "I was always there for you, Legend. After the Dauntless initiation, I went to Erudite, to try to understand what was going on. I had seen the changes in our faction, too – both of them. Abnegation and Dauntless weren't like they used to be. In Erudite, I didn't find out much before they caught on and ordered me dead. I ran to Candor, because I figured that those who were always seeking the truth would be able to tell me something."

Something flickers in his eyes. "What happened?" he queries softly.

I flash a wry grin. "Some Candor decided to take a bounty offer from the Erudite. I had to move again. I would've loved to come home to you, trust me. But I headed for Amity instead, knowing they could get me out of the gate. Outside the gate, the Bureau came for me. I've been here ever since."

"That's not exactly true, is it? I don't think you would constantly watch the cameras just to see how I was doing." He's as observant as he used to be.

Tracing one of the scars on the back of my left hand, I can only shrug. "Sometimes I went into the fringe; sometimes I was flown out to other cities. And whenever I could, I snuck back into Chicago, because I needed to see my little brother who was top of his class. I was there on Visiting Day, when Tris introduced Natalie to you." He ducks his head, a smirk creeping at his lips. "You were drunk enough that if I came to see you, you might not have remembered it in the morning. I didn't want to give you something only to have you doubt what you saw, though, so I stayed in the shadows." I want him to joke around. It would make everything easier.

Finally looking up at me again, Tobias gazes at me sorrowfully. "During the simulation?" he rasps.

"Who do you think helped Caleb, Natalie, and Andrew? I was getting whoever I could into safe houses. I saw the last wave of the Dauntless and knew you and Tris had to be there, but–"

He swallows hard. "You could have saved me. Tris and her parents. You could have stopped the simulation." Even though he wants to be mad at me, he can't. Part of him knows already I did what I could.

I see him shiver an instant before he drops onto one knee. I lunge forward and wrap my arms around him. "Legend, hey, it's okay." I smooth his dark hair out of his face, a habit I expect to keep all my life. "Tobias, none of that was your fault. Don't forget how much you've accomplished since then." I rest my forehead against his temple, kneeling beside him. "You're a Dauntless leader. You proved that not everyone who seems Divergent actually is. They checked me after they found out about you, to see if I was the same. You've done more things than I ever expected my baby brother to do."

"Touching," the voice from both our nightmares cuts in.

At the same time, the two of us launch back to our feet. "What are you doing here, Marcus?" I growl, subtly handing Tobias one of my guns. I undo the safety on the other.

Our father smirks. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to reclaim my family."


	3. Chapter 3

_Tris_

After my mother had welcomed me home, I found that I couldn't leave everything behind so easily. Now I gaze sadly at Tobias, who hasn't left the infirmary since they proclaimed me dead. I reach toward him, but I have tried this already. Spirits really do pass through mortal things.

With a sob clawing the back of my throat, I swallow hard. I chose this, didn't I? Volunteering to save Caleb, I'd known what it could cost me.

And while I was ready then to say goodbye, I still can't bring myself to leave now.

With a jerk, I wake up, my heart slamming against my chest. Only an hour has passed since Tobias and the others came home, yet it feels like days. I touch the needles sticking out of my arm, connecting me to an IV and some vital monitors. Half tempted to rip them out, I close my eyes once more. I am exhausted after what happened. Even if I have the strength to unhook myself, where can I go without collapsing on the way there?

In my mind, I see the dark angel rushing forward; hear the gunshot ring out around me. David is alive, somehow, though I knew even in my NDE haze that my guardian wanted to kill him. Now David can hardly remember anything. As for Bryn, she's more volatile than anyone I know, but seeing her with Tobias… It doesn't make sense to me.

"Tris?" My eyes snap open; I roll them in the direction of the door. Christina walks groggily, as if she guessed something is wrong. "You okay?"

I shake my head only slightly, aching everywhere. "I don't really want to talk, either," I admit softly.

Though she knows I mean it, she pulls up a chair beside me. "Maybe it'd be better for you to." I stare hard at her. She shrugs. "Four is out with Bryn. It's not like either of them will bother us." She sees my discomfort before I can hide it.

Bryn had – has – the look of a killer. She's gotten experience in her life, more than even Dauntless have. For some reason, she had known to save me. She might have been inoculated to the death serum or have a similar Divergence to mine, but whatever happened in there, that murderous expression had turned on her boss.

"Hey." Christina shakes my knee a little to get my attention. "You sure you don't want to talk? You were zoning there."

I don't want to lie to her. It comes out anyway. "Just tired." I can say I was just thinking, but that would be open to questions. I feel bad about avoiding her when she is sitting _right there _next to me, worried.

"Caleb wanted to stay here with you," she informs me quietly. "Bryn wouldn't let him. He misses having you as a sister, you know."

Grief pierces my heart. "I miss him, too," I admit under my breath. "But it's going to take a lot more than missing each other for me to ever trust him again." That much, at least, is true.

Christina shakes her head sadly at me. "Still, I figured you should know that much. I don't know what else to do for you, to help."

"There isn't much to be done," I remind her.

She stands and puts the chair back. "I guess I'll see what's taking Tobias so long. Maybe with him sitting here, you'll be able to sleep more." Before I can assuage her fears, she is gone.

Settling back against my pillows, I close my burning eyes. It seems like years since initiation. All of us have grown older in so little time. The reconstruction of Chicago and even the Bureau will take so much more out of us.

I wonder if Caleb wants to help Abnegation or Erudite. Abnegation has been utterly destroyed, but so has Erudite, who took the brunt of the war they'd created. There are so many questions to be answered for what's left of those two factions. Dauntless, too, now that I think about it.

Not too long ago, I might have gone with Caleb, so that we could work as a team. Having divided loyalties is an understatement at this point. I was once Abnegation, yet I swore allegiance to Dauntless. More than that, the Bureau needs me as well.

With a sigh, I throw the arm not stabbed through with needles over my eyes. Dying in the Weapons Lab would have meant losing so many responsibilities to people I barely knew anymore.

Maybe I _did_ know what I was doing when I sacrificed myself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Recap: In the last chapter, Tris was questioning why Bryn saved her life. She wondered if she actually knew what she was doing, wanting to go to the Weapons Lab to die instead of Caleb. Meanwhile, Tobias and Bryn are outside catching up. Marcus has decided to make a grand entrance. **

_Tobias_

It feels good to stand with Bryn again. I stare at our father, trying not to let his words inside my head. _Reclaim your family? _

"Your family died a long time ago," I snap, no longer afraid. I was never as terrified when my sister was there. "Give me one good reason not to alert everyone here about the traitor's return."

"You wouldn't hurt your own father, would you?" He takes a step forward.

A flare of light and sound. Bryn levels the gun at his head. "Next time I won't aim the other way," she growls.

Shock fades to malice in his eyes. I lift my own weapon. "Come near us and I will _never _think twice," I warn, hyperaware of the fact the people inside are not who they once were. Bryn may have saved Tris, but she might be expecting too much out of the Bureau. They'll focus on themselves first before they recognize the gunshot's meaning.

"You beat me in a fit of rage once," Marcus comments slowly. "That doesn't mean you have the guts to kill me." His smile is dark. "A Dauntless leader murdered a former Abnegation leader in cold blood. Whether or not we have factions, your people would never accept it."

Bryn stiffens. "Legend, go back inside."

"No." I fight the urge to face her, wanting to keep my focus on our father. "You can't just–"

"Tobias." Crap. That tone is so authoritative I've learned not to argue with it.

Lowering the gun, I scowl at Marcus and then my sister. Bryn makes no move to follow me. I head for the building until I know she is no longer paying attention to me, then circle back around. As soon as they both think I'm out of earshot, Bryn sighs and lowers the gun. My breath hitches.

"Don't pretend to trust me," he says. "You never have."

"Well things might go well for people who don't beat their children." Still holding the weapon, she folds her arms across her chest. "Why the hell are you really here?"

Marcus just shakes his head. "All in good time, sweetheart." She shivers at the term of endearment turned insult. "But why do you think no one is coming to save you? Your allies have no leader. Hardly any of them remember you belong to them." He ventures another step forward, and she instantly takes aim. I suck in a sharp breath. "Anything you say, I will refute. Do you really want to leave your friends to that much confusion and torture?" Her grip doesn't falter on the gun. I know her well enough to see the shiver that goes up her arm.

Our father must see it, too, because he takes full advantage and closes the distance between them. Her aim is true, but he smacks her hand away quickly enough. He speaks softly, to the point where I cannot hear him. Judging on how she jerks away and looks toward the building, it has to do with the Bureau workers.

"No," I mutter as he heads toward the building, a smug grin on his face. Even in the predawn light, that expression scares me. "Piece of…"

I bolt toward one of the side doors, hoping I know the labyrinthine building well enough to find my friends. Another gunshot goes off just as I reach the door. Bryn won't kill him in cold blood, especially not when his back is turned. She understands exactly what I did and wants to buy me time.

This was why our partnership worked in the past.

What surprises me is when she appears out of nowhere, ordering, "No, this way!" She leads me down a shortcut to the infirmary. When we fly past Caleb returning from somewhere, she doubles back to catch him up on Marcus's arrival. I duck hurriedly into the room.

Christina pretty much dives out of my way. Tris struggles to sit up on her bed. "What's going on?" both of them ask.

"You're okay." My brain stills for a second as I gently crush her in a bear hug. A brief second later, her arms wrap around me in response. No IVs, no drugs, nothing left except for the bandages to remind us of what happened. She pushes me away a bit too soon. I read the impatience in her familiar gaze. "Our father is here."

"He wants to use the memory serum's effects to take over the Bureau. He doesn't want factionless leaders running the city." Bryn leans against the wall, her near-black eyes focused somewhere in the distance. The dark blue depths are an entity in themselves. "This might've worked under different circumstances."

Tris looks away. "Maybe you should've taken care of him when you had the chance, instead of coming for me."

"She'll rescue someone close to me before she kills anybody," I flash back quickly. Bryn refuses to even glance in my direction. "What did you do to him, by the way?" It is not an afterthought, yet I think she'll relax more if I treat it that way. At least I hope I'm right.

"Distracted him a bit," she answers vaguely. "We have to get out of here. There're only so many people we can save while the Bureau _and _Chicago are without strong leaders." Essentially a solo agent in a military all her life, I can see what bugs her the most.

Caleb raises one eyebrow. "You aren't thinking of going back to the city, are you?" He has the Erudite tone of _I already figured this out now let's get to work _superiority.

"It's the safest place we can be," is her tentative response. "Except your sister shouldn't be moved so soon."

Tris pushes herself up straighter. "I'm fine. When do we leave?" Christina eases her down again without any prompting from Bryn, me, or Caleb.

With the four of us ready to keep her in place, there is nothing she can do without Bryn's or a doctor's approval. I puzzle it out myself. "We have to find the people we need most when we come back for the poor workers, some serum just in case, and the research on them and inoculating. We can head back to Chicago afterward to go from there." I fix a meaningful look on Caleb, who I still hate for getting Tris into this position. "Better to start somewhere." She might forgive him, but I am far from it.

"I'll stay here with Tris," Christina offers. Not that I'm surprised.

As we walk out, Bryn sighs dramatically. "Caleb, go ahead without us. I need to talk to Four alone for a minute." The one nickname she has never called me.

Worried, I halt with her. "What is it?"

"You know one of us has to stay here to help keep things sane." Determination lines her features. "If he actually takes control, you know there's nobody better to teach the workers" – air quotes – "'exactly' what happened." She hesitates. "You have to be okay with me staying here, Legend."

I clench my jaw. "Well, I'm not. If he finds out what you're doing, Scourge, he might succeed for once." She had an NDE once, too, not counting the times she was sent to Dauntless infirmary. This was caused by Marcus himself back when our mother lived with us.

"I'll be fine." She pecks my cheek. "Go with Tris. Keep everyone safe in my place."

My fingers are viselike on her wrist. "Not again. Not after I just got you back." Damn it, my voice cracks a little.

An alarm sounds from deeper inside the building. "We will meet again, brother. I promise you that." She vanishes into a corridor I have yet to go down.

Sighing, I head the way we'd come. _You better be right, Bryn._


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this isn't much of a chapter, guys. I just wanted to give you something while I try to get back to a routine.**

_Bryn_

I race through the corridors, barking orders to the GD workers who weren't affected by the serum. My legs are shaky from running on pure adrenaline, but this is what the Dauntless are trained to do. If I hadn't learned to rely on my instincts and hidden strength from them, I might not have survived so long in the fringe.

People go about their business, either relearning things or teaching them, and I am careful not to do anything that will confuse too many. I need each and every person to be able to trust me, especially once Marcus enters the building.

Hopefully I can get the others out before that.

Keeping an eye on the mobile camera I stole from the security room, I shoot down the hallway that leads to the kitchens. Cara is in there with Nita and David. Struggling not to pull my gun at the sight of him, I make an opportunity to catch my breath by checking on Amar, who I insisted go with my brother. His shoulder camera gives me the perfect view of Tris heading for the back of the building, Christina and Caleb on either side. Tobias leads the way.

With a sigh of relief, I turn back to Nita and Cara. "Good, you're both here. I'm going to need your help in the next few days. Maybe weeks." My father does like to pretend he is an actual dictator. I force a pleasant, reassuring smile to my face as I focus on David. "You, too, all things considered."

"What do you need us for?" Nita asks.

Filling them in takes a good seven or eight minutes, because I tell them most of what is going on. As soon as that's done, I trace a winding path through the Bureau to make sure everything is in place, and to grab the other half of Amar's wireless. "Hey, how are you guys doing?" Last I checked, Marcus had made it to the front door. If my plan went smoothly, the first place he would end up was the infirmary, to get his makeshift tourniquet off the leg I'd shot.

His voice crackles through the earpiece. _"We're almost at the tracks." _A moment of hesitation. _"We can get on the train no problem, since you told the conductor about us ahead of time. My question is, how do you expect us to jump off? The landing can't be good for Tris." _

"Who's the best jumper there?" He agrees with my silent musing: himself or my brother. "One of you carry her on your back, then!" I snap at him. As much as I do not want to get frustrated, they need to be in Erudite, like, _now_.

"_Relax," _Amar replies, unfazed. _"By the time Marcus is released from taking care of his leg, we'll be safe… well, safer. We can handle this." _

I mutter a quick curse under my breath to express my anxiety and then turn off the com. Unfortunately, if I had the ideal situation, all of them would be at the coast by now, not merely in Chicago. I know that my father will go after the city as soon as he believes the Bureau is under his command. That was partially the reason I stayed, actually. Leader that he is, I doubt Tobias has the patience to wait for the people's trust. I don't, either, but I was not joking about someone needing to give them the real truth.

Damn, I have my work cut out for me. Too bad I stopped being selfish the day _he _turned against my brother.


End file.
